


Maybe It Is Fate

by ordinaryxtreme



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, but also exactly what you think it is, not what you think it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 03:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5568949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ordinaryxtreme/pseuds/ordinaryxtreme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love comes to Midorima Shintaro in the form of an anonymous love confession mistakenly sent straight to his doorstep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe It Is Fate

Shintaro was doing his homework in his room when he heard someone push the bell on the front door downstairs. The sudden sound startled him from his focused state and made his body jolt, leaving an ugly black streak of graphite on his maths paper. He was home alone so that left him to be the only one available to open it. With a groan, he got up from his seat wondering who could possibly be visiting at this late an hour.

As he headed downstairs, he took his time fixing the landscape painting in the hall that kept curiously slanting just to spite the visitor for doing the same to him. When he reached the door, he fixed himself to a more publicly suitable countenance before opening it. And there was… nobody, to his surprise and annoyance. But there was something. It nudged against his feet when he stepped out to check for prankster children.

It was a box, wrapped plainly in the brown paper anyone would normally see wrapped around a parcel at the post office, about the size of a shoebox. Shintaro picked it up to check for signs of the sender or the intended address but he found nothing of the sort so he brought it back inside with him to investigate. Shaking the box to confirm its contents, he tried to remember whether any of his family members mentioned a delivery arriving that day, but recalled no such thing.

He made way into his room a little bit more vigorously than before and sat down on his rolly chair. It was common sense not to open something so suspicious and most likely not for him, he knew that. And why would he even bother to open something that was delivered so late at night, probably as a form of pranking? It would only gratify the perpetrator.

But as his mind thought these things, his hands were already working on tearing the brown wrapping. Was it what fate wanted?

Inside the wrapping was, well, a shoebox, quite a famous brand as well. The sender might have chosen it on purpose. Shintaro opened the lid to reveal a jar of cookies and a pile of assorted sweets which only made him cringe because he was not fond of confectionary, except red bean soup of course. He’d give all those to his sister, he thought, examining at the small cookie jar in his hand, which was decorated with a thin blue ribbon around its neck. Maybe he would keep the cookies, they looked homemade and those usually weren’t too sweet. And by the smooth look and the normal coloration of the bite-sized crackers inside it, they were at least edible.

He dumped the rest of the contents on to his study table and on top of the pile, landed a single white envelope which he picked up and examined for clues. There was nothing on the exterior, so he opened the flap, which, peculiarly, wasn’t stuck closed. Inside was a single piece of folded white paper. He unfolded it and was quite surprised to find the handwriting was neat, though there were a few words scratched out, proof of the writer’s carelessness.

**Hey, you must be wondering who I am.**

_Damn right I am,_ Shintaro rolled his eyes.

 

**Or maybe not? But before that, I just wanted to say that you are a very amazing person! Ever since I met you, I’ve been watching you. I guess you could say I was awestruck with you, who always strives to become better than before. Seeing you having fun playing baseball makes me happy too!**

**So, in short, I like you, Kominato-san!**

**P.S. If you still don’t know who I am, here’s my number.**

 

And under that, true to the words, there was the sender’s number.

The Kominatos lived next door. This person must’ve gotten the wrong house. As far as Shintaro knew, both Kominato brothers played baseball. But that was all really. He wasn’t really fond of the meek Haruichi, who was his age, and the cunning older brother Ryosuke, so he didn’t know much other than their names. Even knowing who they were was just a formality his parents forced on to him. Though he did acknowledge their extensive baseball skills. Enough of his neighbors, he needed to inform the sender of his mistake.

With that in mind, he grabbed his phone from his night stand and went straight to compose.

**From: Midorima Shintaro [19:13]**

**I’m sorry to tell you that you have sent your package to the wrong house. The Kominatos live next door. Should I repackage it and hand it to them?**

 

Ah, he just realized he offered help to a stranger. With a flick of his palm, he close his phone, not expecting a quick reply, but was held back from putting the damn thing back on to the night stand as it vibrated. With a sigh, he opened it again and read the message.

 

**From: unregistered number [19:13]**

**oh shit thats embarrassing** **Σ(** **゜ロ゜;) but its ok you can keep everything. i decided that if it didn’t reach Kominato id give up** **┐(** **´∀｀)** **┌  hey since this happened and all will you be my texting buddy? you can call me Taka!**

God, could this person even type properly? What was with the emojis? It reminded him too much of Kise and it made him cringe, though the blond, who was notorious for using kaomojis every two or three words, used them more extensively. And texting buddies? Midorima Shintaro did not have time for such pointless things.

And yet somehow, he sent another reply without realizing it.

**From: Midorima Shintaro [19:14]**

**Don’t be an idiot. I, in fact, do not have time for such things.**

Another reply came, just as quickly as the last one did.

 

**From: unregistered number [19:14]**

**www whats with the ‘in facts’? www i totally have to be your texting buddy now! Come ooonnn itll be fun!!!**

It seemed like his refusal actually had the opposite effect. What a weird girl.

…No matter. Without replying, Shintaro turned off his phone so he could finish his homework more efficiently (not to mention avoiding Aomine’s texts asking for all the answers). And it did work. Within more or less an hour, he had finished everything without any distractions, leaving some time to spare before his personally assigned curfew. That was the good thing about being home alone. Without thinking, he booted his phone and checked for messages. To his surprise, there were no new ones, not even from that stranger. Was she waiting for a reply?

 

**From: Midorima Shintaro [21:22]**

**Call me Shi-**

Quickly he deleted everything he wrote. _What am I doing?_ He berated himself. Yet as these thoughts were going through his head, his thumbs were hovering over the keypad as if they had a mind of their own and thinking of what to say. If this was true, could it possibly be fate? Oha-Asa did mention something about a ‘wind of change’, maybe it was talking about this. Maybe he was just bored of his monotone every day routine. He glanced at the lucky item of the day, a blue notebook, sitting on his desk. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

 

**From: Midorima Shintaro [21:24]**

**Fine. You can call me Shin. Unfortunately, this does not mean I will be replying to all of your messages. I do not intend to prioritize you over school.**

And with that, he registered Taka-san’s number onto his phone and waited for a reply. At least that was what he intended to do, but it had been ten minutes and the stranger still hadn’t replied. Maybe she changed her mind after all. Well, he couldn’t blame her but he couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed at the turn of events. Leaving his phone on the nightstand, he left to do his nightly routine. He came back to the sound of a vibrating phone.

Hoping it wasn’t just Kise, he opened the message.

 

**From: Taka [21:42]**

**OMG REALLY? YAAAYY** o(≧▽≦)o **PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME!**

 **good night shin-chan! (** **◡‿◡✿** **)**

“Shin-chan?!” He exclaimed, feeling weirdly flustered and all-around embarrassed because he hadn’t been called that since he was five. 

He growled, fingers poised on the keypad ready to reply when another message came. Here it was, Kise’s nightly texts. The blond always made a point to text him every day to get him to ‘warm up’ to him. But it was no secret that the blond didn’t like him. In fact, not a lot of people did. It was something he was made aware of at quite an early age. Besides, Kise wasn’t the type to talk to people he didn’t like just for the sake of it. He probably saw some benefit in talking to him. Ah, thinking about that made him sick.  Shintaro deleted them message without reading it because he didn’t even feel like indulging the blond, not even just to tell him to die.

**From: Midorima Shintaro [21:44]**

**Good night. And don’t call me that it is, in fact, unsettling.**

* * *

It wasn’t until the next day that Taka texted him again. Precisely, it was during biology period, which was freed up because the teacher called in sick. She had only left them with a worksheet to do and Shintaro had, in fact, completed it with ease. The text came quite in the nick of time, as the shooting guard was beginning to feel bored. Glancing at his classmates, Aomine particularly, he made sure they were all busy among themselves before opening his flip phone, with a carrot shaped strap hanging from it serving as cancer’s lucky item of the day.

**From: Taka [09:53]**

**hey hey shin-chan help me**

Shintaro raised his brows.

**From: Shin [09:53]**

**With what, exactly?**

**From: Taka [09:54]**

**PLEASEE HELP ME WITH MAATTHSS PLEAASEEE** **ｍ(** **｡** **≧** **Д** **≦** **｡)** **ｍ**

He should’ve known something like this was coming. People always came to him for help with academics. If only they properly studied, then maybe his nights would be less hectic, without frantic texts from Kise asking for help, and mornings would be less stressful, without Aomine copying homework and notes on the last minute. Gritting his teeth, he typed in his reply.

 

**From: Shin [09:56]**

**Aren’t you supposed to be in class? Maybe you should, in fact, pay attention to your teacher instead of texting me.**

**From: Taka [09:56]**

**im having free period the teacher called in sick. he only gave us a worksheet we havent learned this in class yet and i dont understand a thing** **｡･ﾟﾟ･( >д<)** **･ﾟﾟ･｡**

Well, if that was really the case then…

 

**From: Shin [09:57]**

**Fine then. But just ONE question. I am only helping by showing you an example.**

It was only after he had pressed send that he realized he didn’t exactly know what grade his anonymous female ‘friend’ was. She may even be in college studying a form of calculus not yet made light to him for all he knew. Thought it would be creepy if it turned out he was texting a grade schooler this whole time. Finally the awaited message arrived.

 

**From: Taka [09:59]**

**YAAAYY** **＼(*** **ﾟ** **∀** **ﾟ*)** **／ The question’s in the attached picture ok? ;)**

**< heelllppp.jpg>**

Shintaro was quite relieved to find, when he opened the picture, a question about angle of center and circumference. It just so happened the previous period was math and this exact topic was explained. That meant they were the same age, thank Oha-Asa. With the equations still fresh in his head, he quickly took out his extra notebook, - couldn’t be too careful, and carefully wrote the answer on the back most page. When he finished, he looked around again, just to make sure, before snapping a quick picture and sending it to the girl on the other side.

 

**From: Shin [09:03]**

**Here. Now go and focus on your worksheet.**

**< img00438.jpg>**

**From: Taka [09:03]**

**OMG THANK YOU SHIN-CHAAANN!! YOU’RE THE BEST!** **＼(*T** **▽T*)** **／**

Shintaro wouldn’t admit it, but it may have brought a small smile to his face. Just a small, tiny, miniscule one.

 

* * *

**From: Taka**

**the moon sure is beautiful tonight.**

**From: Shin**

**I know where this is going so please stop.**

**From: Taka**

**whaaaa Σ** **（￣□** **￣；） howd you know i was trying to smooth talk you into helping me with homework?!**

**From: Shin**

**I didn’t, you idiot. I just knew that it was, in fact, a prelude to something bad.**

**From: Taka**

**boo shin-chan you meanie =3=  ……….. just one question?**

**From: Shin**

**… Fine.**

* * *

It had been about two months since Shintaro started texting with Taka. By that time, the girl’s texts weren’t just a mere addition to his routine, it was a part of it. Not a day passed without at least one of her messages and it acted as sort of a refresher after evening basketball practice. This was the fastest anyone ever weaseled into Shintaro’s life and he couldn’t say he didn’t like it. Despite how annoyingly persistent she was, she knew how to tell whether something was a sensitive matter or not. So conversations with her never really required much thinking about difficult things and somewhere deep inside, he also hoped she felt as relaxed with him as he was when conversing with her.

That was, of course, until a certain evening practice. The Generation of Miracles were all in the locker room, getting ready to leave for the day. The weather was getting colder so, as always with club activities during winter, practice ended early. The room was quiet and most of them had finished changing. Kise quipped, “We should totally go karaoke! Anyone up?”

“I’m free,” Aomine replied. “Tetsu, Murasakibara?”

 _When is he ever_ not _free, really?_ Shintaro wanted to comment but instead returned to putting his remaining belongings in his bag.

 “I’m coming,” Kuroko answered, while Murasakibara just nodded, already stuffing his face with potato chips. “Akashi-kun?”

Akashi only sent the blue haired boy a small smile and a shake of his head before exiting the room. Leaving the others to just shrug and accept their captain’s standoff-ish self.

“Midorima-kun, are you coming?” he heard Kuroko ask, just as he finished zipping his bag shut. Shintaro jerked to the question, a little surprised that Kuroko remembered to invite him. His reply came out with a slight stammer.

“I, I got errands to run.”

As he made his way to the door, he heard Aomine snort. Alarmed, his head moved to face his classmate, who had a know-it-all smirk plastered on his face. It instantly gained Kise’s attention, what with the curious gleam in his eyes and enthusiastic “oooo”. If the blond had a tail, it would be wagging right about now. Kuroko sent Aomine a disapproving look. Murasakibara looked as blank as he usually did.

Smiling proudly at all the attention directed at him, Aomine pointed an accusing finger at Shintaro and exclaimed, “Stop lying, Midorima! I know you have a date with your girlfriend!”

That statement alerted everyone in the room. Kise, being the nosey person that he was, sent Aomine a barrage of questions asking for more detail, while the disapproving look on Kuroko’s face changed to a look of warning, as if telling Aomine to stop before he regretted it. Judging by that look, Shintaro concluded that Kuroko also knew something. Warily, he looked between the two.

“Hmph, that notion is simply absurd. I do not have time for intimate relationships,” Shintaro stated nothing but the truth. By the look on Kuroko’s face, he must have assumed the same thing Aomine did. It seemed like his wariness was for naught. Until Aomine announced,

“Hah! Don’t lie! I know you’ve been texting someone recently! I’ve seen you smiling at your phone way too many times to just dismiss it as friends!”

That took Shintaro off guard. He clenched his fists. Aomine was a lot more observant than he thought. Even though he always went out of his way to check his surroundings before reading Taka’s texts. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Shintaro said, “I don’t know her in real life. There’s no way we could be lovers.”

Aomine quieted down at that. Kise visibly deflated, probably mourning the loss of juicy gossip. Kuroko looked quite relieved, though Shintaro was not sure why. He thought he had cleared this ordeal, so he opened the door to go out, but it was at this time that Murasakibara decided to donate his unwanted penny. While his hands were digging for the last pieces of potato chip crumbs in the bag, he said, “But you can like someone without meeting them, right? Isn’t that what dating sites are for?”

Before Shintaro could retort, the giant had already continued, “Do you like her, Mido-chin?”

“Absolutely not!”…. was what he would like to say, but he could only stand there stunned, mouth open but unable to say anything. It was like the words were stuck on his tongue. Did he like her? No, yes, he didn’t know. So, he did the only thing that came to mind at that time and it was run. Run the hell out of there and hopefully Kise wouldn’t chase him down for an answer because he knew the blond’s legs were quite a bit swifter than his.

In no time, he was at the school gate, panting and red faced, but he wasn’t sure whether that was from fatigue or from something else. He glanced back to check for chasers and sighed in relief when he saw none. Fixing his glasses, he composed himself before any other students saw him and exited the gate as if nothing happened. The only thing he couldn’t fix was the color tainting his face. He couldn’t help but think of the question on the way home. In fact, it had bothered him so much, he had forgotten to get red bean soup from his usual vending machine. That and the quickly dropping temperature only served to dampen his mood.

That night he didn’t answer Taka’s texts.

* * *

It had been a week since ‘the Question’. There were at least a hundred unread messages in his inbox and 95% of them were from Taka. At first he planned to ignore all texts from the girl, but her persistence was not to be underestimated. Instead of the number of messages dwindling each day that passed, but instead it was the opposite. Initially, each vibrate of his phone made him nervous, but now, it brought him annoyance as well. He knew that if he answered, the barrage of texts would stop and that everything would go back to normal, but every time he tried to, only confusion would arise and ‘the Question’ would pop up in his head.

That was exactly what was going on that night as he lay on his bed, his phone in his hand and his thumbs ready to type in words that he couldn’t even think of.

_“Do you like her, Mido-chin?”_

He grit his teeth. Why did it have to be Murasakibara’s voice? He would, in fact, much rather Kise’s voice asking him in that annoyingly high pitch of his.

The phone vibrated in his hand for the umpteenth time that day and this time he took the time to read the message.

**From: Taka [20:41]**

**hey shin-chan you’re not dead right?! (** **￣** **◇** **￣;) i saw an accident on the news last week i hope you’re not involved! (** **ノд** **ヽ)**

_This girl…_

Shintaro groaned. How could she write him off so easily? This was beyond ridiculous. Without thinking much, because thinking only made him confused, he punched in his reply.

 

**From: Shin [20:41]**

**Don’t just kill me like that. I am, in fact, still alive and well.**

**From: Taka [20:41]**

**AHH SO YOU WERE OK Σ(** **゜ロ゜;) why didn’t you reply? and for a whole week too! i was worried!** **（＞д** **＜）**

She was worried. About him. It brought a small smile to his face. But it was short lived as he had no idea what to tell her. Anything he thought up sounded like an excuse.

 

**From: Shin [20:42]**

**I was… confused.**

**From: Taka [20:42]**

**Hey, what’s wrong? You can tell me, y’know? Maybe I can help.**

_Wha-?_ Shintaro read the message over again, wide-eyed. She was typing properly. No emoticons either. It was like talking to a different person. But for some reason, it didn’t incite wariness. It was like he could see the soft smile behind her words. It was her way of showing concern. He couldn’t help another smile. What was he so worried about anyway?

 

**From: Shin [20:43]**

**My teammates assumed something about me that bothered me. But it seems like I was foolish for thinking too much.**

**From: Taka [20:43]**

**Oh, well I’m glad you’re ok. Hey, come to think about it you never tell me about your friends.**

**From: Shin [20:44]**

**I wouldn’t consider them friends, but I guess I can tell you about them.**

* * *

February. In a few months it would be the national preliminaries, leading to the Generation of Miracles’ final summer tournament. Despite this, Teiko’s main basketball court was empty again that fine spring day. The locker room was eerily quiet as well. Shintaro was sitting on one of the benches in said room, already done changing and packing his things but not exactly ready to go home. The fresh spring breeze blowing through the open windows of the room had always been one of the only things he liked about it. The warm afternoon sun’s rays were angled perfectly, creating orange beams of light that fell onto the lockers on the other side. The lighting was perfect for filing nails.

As he was engaging in the mentioned activity, he let his mind wander. Unlike nails, some problems just can’t be fixed, no matter how much he tried or wanted to try. He was made aware of that a long time ago. Always, he’d tell himself that as long as he wasn’t involved directly, it wasn’t his problem. But now, with the growing rift between the Miracles and the way Akashi just… changed, he knew the whole team was going to pay the toll. At the moment, though, all he could feel frustrated at was, not Aomine who poured the oil or Akashi who sparked the fire, but himself. He had, in fact, realized there was something monstrous within Akashi but he didn’t try to stop it. All he did was stand at the sidelines as the fire spread.

Ah, he over-filed his pinky nail. Shaking his head, he took out the taping from his open bag and started wrapping his left thumb.

Kuroko. Shintaro knew the boy had a similar stance as him regarding the team’s current state of falling apart. He wanted to talk to Kuroko, maybe find a way to pull the team together, at least until the summer tournament ended, but he just couldn’t find the words to say. They never got along well. Kuroko couldn’t stand him and the feeling was mutual.

Just as he finished up, he saw his phone light up from inside his bag. It was probably Taka, texting him some mundane gossip about an idol group or a new movie. Initially, he wanted to leave the message to read when he got home, but an idea struck him. Yeah, maybe she knew what to do. Even though every ounce of his pride kept him from asking for help, he knew that if he didn’t talk to someone about it, he might explode from his unhealthy tendency to overthink things.

 

**From: Shin [17:16]**

**You seem to get along with your teammates well, so I’d like to ask for your advice.**

It was awkward, but it was a plea for help indeed. A reply came lightning fast, as usual.

 

**From: Taka [17:17]**

**Huh, it’s not often you ask me for help Shin-chan. Something wrong?**

Shintaro grit his teeth, eyebrows unconsciously furrowed deeper as his thumbs hovered over the keypad. Why was it so hard to put to words? It hurt, almost physically so. After deleting the words he had formed over and over again, he had finally settled for something short. Barely a grain of sand compared to the desert of the problem, but that was all he could manage.

**From: Shin [17:20]**

**The team’s falling apart. Ever since the captain changed, it’s like we’re not a team anymore.**

**From: Taka [17:21]**

**How exactly did he change? Maybe you could try talking to him.**

**From: Shin [17:21]**

**I can’t say. Nor can I talk to him.**

He sighed as he typed the next message. It felt desperate, even to his own mind.

 

**From: Shin [17:22]**

**and i dont think i can anymore**

* * *

Shintaro had lost count of the number of matches they had played. They were winning, it was a given. He looked on as his teammates accepted the victory. They were eerily quiet. Only Kise was cheering, but it was mostly for himself and that ridiculous game they were playing. If Shintaro were playing as well, he would’ve won it by a large margin, but he wasn’t. And he had no intention to. The other team, however, were holding in their frustrated cries, although some of their cheeks had already been wet with tears.

They did the customary bow and hand shake, shouting their gratitude for the good game. Shintaro wasn’t sure if any of his teammates meant it. As the Teiko team made their way back to the benches to get their things, Shintaro felt an almost malicious aura piercing his the skin on his back. Alarmed, he looked back at the other team and finally, he found the source. It was an average looking boy. If he remembered correctly, it was the rival team’s point guard. What left him glued to the spot was not the boy’s general appearance, though. It was his eyes.

Shintaro’s vision seemed to zoom in to those steel blue irises, rendering the rest of the world to shades of gray, running in slow motion. They glowed so brightly with the emotions swirling in them, it was like a fire, highly contrasting the cool blue of the irises. Even the tears on the boy’s cheeks seemed like raw frustration that had leaked out of his eyes for the world to see. To other people, he may have looked like nothing but a boy crying over the loss of a long awaited match, but to Shintaro it looked more like an oath, a vow.

“…ma-cchi! Midorima-cchi! What are you staring at? Let’s go!” Kise called, awakening him from his revenue. Giving the blond a nod, he fixed his glasses and turned to leave, but not without giving the boy, whose back was now turned to him, a last glance. Shintaro was sure he wouldn’t remember what his face looked like, much less the form of his retreating back. But he would never forget those eyes.

And some part of him wondered if maybe it was fate.

* * *

Somehow, the topic of basketball matches never really made its way into Shintaro’s conversations with Taka. Of course, he knew that she was in her school’s basketball team, but never really asked her how her team had fared in the summer tournament nor did she ever ask him. Shintaro wasn’t the type to flaunt his wins, anyway.

That summer evening, shortly after the summer finals, they were chatting about mundane things as usual. At this point, they knew a lot of little tidbits concerning each other’s lives, like how Taka owns a collection of headbands and trading cards or how Shintaro received a four leaf clover from his sister on his birthday and had it pressed into a book. They may seem unimportant on the surface but at least, to Shintaro they had a significant meaning.

Speaking of significant, that evening was also when she asked an important question. One Shintaro knew was coming, but wasn’t ready to think about. 

 

**From: Taka**

**Hey, Shin-chan, can we meet? On winter break maybe?**

 

**From: Shin**

**I don’t know. It’s too soon.**

**From: Taka**

**Oh, I see. How much longer do I have to wait? I really want to see you.**

**From: Shin**

**Next summer break. We’d be in high school then.**

**From: Taka**

**Next year? You take really long preparing huh, Shin-chan? Wwww It’ll be a high school summer romance!**

**From: Shin**

**Shut up! I am, in fact, just doing everything humanely possible.**

**From: Taka**

**Yeah, I know. :)**

* * *

The first day of high school had finally come and just like they vowed, the Generation of Miracles went their separate ways. Shintaro himself enrolled at Shuutoku high, known as the veteran king in the world of high school level basketball. In fact, he was currently at their basketball court, getting ready for the team try outs. He examined the rest of the new members and soon concluded that none of them would make it to first or even second string. Until his eyes landed on a plain looking boy. They boy was staring hard at him, with an undecipherable look on his face. It was slightly unsettling. Despite the fact that Shintaro had caught him staring, he didn’t flinch and just furrowed his brows as he kept staring.

 _Just look away…_ Shintaro willed himself.

Thankfully, not long after that, the captain, who introduced himself as Otsubo, told all the first years to line up and introduce their names and playing position. As much as Shintaro told himself he didn’t care about the boy, he couldn’t help but be curious about his position due to, most likely, basketball player instincts.

“Takao Kazunari. Position: Point Guard.”

Point guard, huh? Was it wrong of Shintaro to expect much out of Takao?

The rest of the introductions seemed to fly by as they were told to do basic exercises like lay-ups, passes, and three pointers. Of course, by the time that was over, Shintaro was directly pointed as a new member of the first string. He didn’t really think all the exercises were necessary to assess his skill, since he was one of the legendary miracles after all, but when he asked the (slightly intimidating) senpai, Miyaji, he said that it was all just for the formality. Next, the rest of the first years had to play mock games against each other to analyze their teamwork, while Shintaro sat on the bench.

“Watch closely, okay,” Miyaji said, to which Shintaro nodded. He was planning to from the start anyway since Takao was playing.

But the game was, to put it simply, plain. Maybe it really was wrong to expect things out of Takao, nothing but a random player he caught staring at him. He was a great point guard, but by no means exceptional. In fact, his team was about to lose their lead. Shintaro started to lose interest around the third quarter, as the other players weren’t that big of a deal, until the moment the opposing team’s point guard was about to pass the ball to their shooting guard to take the point lead. Takao sped up to the unsuspecting point guard with a smirk. Before the enemy could react, he had shoved the ball away from its course, caught it for a brief moment then quickly passed it _precisely_ into the hands of a teammate standing in what was supposed to be a normal person’s blind spot.

The move sent everybody watching in awe as Takao’s team raked three points, furthering their previously slight lead. By the way the point guard had handled the rest of the game, leading his team to utter victory, Shintaro knew that that was not just some trump card move, but rather Takao’s true, innate skill. Why he didn’t use it from the start was beyond him, though.

At the end of the day, Otsubo announced the new players’ respective strings. As expected, most only made it to third string. But surprisingly, or maybe _un_ surprisingly, Takao ended up as one of the permanent first string members. Unexpectedly though, he got to be the starting lineup as well. The senpai concluded the day and excused everyone to go home. As Shintaro packed his things, he felt a familiar sensation. He looked around, feeling a sense of déjà vu. It only got stronger when he found the source.

Takao’s steel blue irises, staring right into his green ones. In them was a strong determination, dancing like fire. The light shining in those eyes were familiar, Shintaro was sure of it, but also slightly different from his memory. Where had Shintaro seen them before? Wasn’t it something unforgettable?

Ah, no good. He couldn’t recall.

* * *

**To: midorima0707@ymail.com**

**From: hawkeye2111@ymail.com**

**Subject: (*** **ﾉ´□`)** **ﾉ**

**hi shin-chan! ^o^)/ isnt email great? wwwww**

**To: hawkeye2111@ymail.com**

**From: midorima0707@ymail.com**

**Subject: re: (*** **ﾉ´□`)** **ﾉ**

**I don’t understand why I have to make one just to read your idiotic messages.**

**To: midorima0707@ymail.com**

**From: hawkeye2111@ymail.com**

**Subject: re: (*** **ﾉ´□`)** **ﾉ**

 **Aww come on shin-chan! =3= phone numbers are waayy outdated now** **ヘ(** **￣ー￣ヘ) its about time you joined in the next big thing! :D**

**To: hawkeye2111@ymail.com**

**From: midorima0707@ymail.com**

**Subject: re: (*** **ﾉ´□`)** **ﾉ**

**Shut up, Takao.**

**To: midorima0707@ymail.com**

**From: hawkeye2111@ymail.com**

**Subject: re: (*** **ﾉ´□`)** **ﾉ**

 **ok shin-chan (** **▰** **˘v** **˘** **▰)**

* * *

Days passed and before Shintaro knew it, it was already July, almost time for his debut in high school basketball. By that time, he and Takao had already established a peculiar sort of partnership, or dare he say, friendship. They had established late night practices together, their whole rickshaw ‘ritual’, as Takao put it, and many other things that have become almost a normality in the few months that they had met. They spent almost all of their waking moments together. Shintaro couldn’t remember anyone who had found their way into his daily life this quick aside from Takao. He still texted Taka daily, but it was only in the evenings as high school got hectic and Takao always kept him busy during the day, be it through his mid-class, concentration disrupting emails or through his incessant chatter during breaks.

That evening they had just finished extra practice. Takao groaned before they leave the locker room which Shintaro locked before catching up to him. "I hate it," Takao says, "How we still have to come to school even though it's our break. I know we have to practice for the nationals but still… It's redundant."

Shintaro huffed. “I didn’t know you could use that word.”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘cause I’m an idiot.”

Shintaro nodded and Takao just laughed. As they ride their bike-rear car combo home, Takao as usual, started chattering about mundane things in between loud pants. Shintaro didn't bother stopping the boy anymore because it was pointless, he'd just laugh it off and keep talking anyway. It was like Takao couldn’t function without talking. It reminded him of a certain anonymous girl he had been texting. In fact, a lot of things about Takao did. He could’ve sworn some of his stories, the ones he actually listened to at least, were similar to hers. He wondered what sort of topic the girl wanted to talk about tonight.

“Hey, Shin-chan,” Takao called. The overly familiar nickname, and the fact that he was just thinking of Taka, made the smaller boy’s figure seem to overlap with the girl in his imagination. Shintaro shook his head to get himself together. He was not her.

“Yes?”

“Do you have someone you like?”

Shintaro spluttered, hiding his red cheeks behind the taped hand fixing his glasses. He was glad he finished his red bean soup a while ago. “T-that’s…”

Takao laughed as hard as his currently pedaling body would allow him. “Don’t get embarrassed, Shin-chan! It’s a yes or no question you know!”

Takao dismissed him and just kept talking after that. About what, Shintaro didn’t know, because his mind was being thrown back to the time of ‘the Question’. He never thought he’d hear Murasakibara’s voice again any time soon since he moved to Akita, but here he was, endlessly repeating himiself in Shintaro’s mind.

_“Do you like her, Mido-chin?”_

And, under the imaginary pressure of Murasakibara’s voice haunting him the whole trip home, Shintaro realized he shouldn’t, no, couldn’t run from it anymore. Not after avoiding the problem for more than a year.

“Maybe I do,” he muttered, barely audible even to himself, as Takao dropped him off in front of his home, parking the rickshaw in his front yard.

“What was that Shin-chan?”

He hesitated, glancing nervously at the ground before steeling himself to face Takao. His face was probably really red and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t embarrassed, but he got the feeling that if he didn’t say it now, he’d never be able to admit it, not to himself, not to anyone. Tightening his grip on today’s lucky item, a small bell he kept in his pocket, he said,

“Yes, I do… in fact… like someone.”

At that, Takao smiled, but it was different from his usual shit-eating grin. It was not a teasing smile or an amused smile. It was a happy, closed-mouthed, smile that reached his eyes, making them appear almost closed with the bliss rolling inside them. For a moment, it was like Takao was going to cry. Illuminated by the orang sunset behind him, it felt like he was glowing. Takao was… beautiful.

“Thank goodness,” he said with a chuckle, as he ended the too ethereal moment. “I always thought Shin-chan was emotionally constipated.”

Shintaro didn’t even have enough time to retort as Takao said goodbye and left with nothing but another smile. As he watched Takao’s retreating figure, he thought at that moment that, maybe, just maybe, he liked Takao too.

* * *

**From: Shin**

**What would you do if you find yourself liking two people at the same time?**

**From: Taka**

**WWWWW (*** **≧** **▽≦)** **ﾉｼ)) what’s this all of a sudden shin-chan? Wwwww**

**From: Shin**

**Just shut up answer me already.**

**From: Taka**

**yea yeaaa XD I never had that problem before so I never really thought about it. But I believe that fate will give you the one true answer.**

**From: Shin**

**… Are you mocking me?**

**From: Taka**

**No! wwwwww im serious! i just cant find any other way to convey it :p You shouldn’t think about it too much. Just wait and see! (** **◡‿◡✿) besides do you really have time to think about this when youre meeting _moi_ soon? (-`д´-)**

**From: Shin**

**You’re right. But don’t get too cocky. I’m not putting you over the Inter-high.**

 

**From: Taka**

**Wwww i know shin-chan i know :)**

* * *

Shintaro would have never thought he would experience his first loss so early into the tournament, to Kuroko’s team no less. No, in fact, he did _not_ cry about it. It was just the rain drops running down his face. Takao approached him right after the surprise call from Momoi, with impeccable timing, as was typical of him.

“I finally found you! Sheesh! What were you doing here? Crying?” Takao inquired, with an all-knowing smirk.

“No,” Shintaro answered, opting to push back his glasses and stare at the ground because he knew the other could see through him. “I wasn’t.”

He glanced to watch for Takao’s reaction but instead of laughing at him or persist on asking why his eyes were red, the boy’s lips evened out into a smile. “Okay.”

To Takao’s silent beckoning, Shintaro followed him to the rickshaw, ready to retire for the day. The taping around his fingers were soaked and was starting to get uncomfortable. He thought Takao was driving him straight home, but he took a wrong turn somewhere along the road. As if he knew what Shintaro was going to ask him, he said, “I thought it’d be nice to get some grub. I know a really good okonomiyaki place.”

They rode in silence, as they both felt worn down due to their loss, but not for long.

“Hey, losing makes me remember that time back in the last year of middle school,” Takao started. “I lost against _your team_ , actually.”

Shintaro raised a brow, his interest piqued.

“I was crying my eyes out in the court and I think there was snot coming out my nose,” he continued, laughing. “And I glared at you. _Really hard_. I mean, you were the biggest contributor to our loss. You probably forgot, but our eyes met and you stared back. Honestly, I was a bit scared, but I just continued glaring until you looked away. It’s pretty pathetic, but I felt like I won that day.”

This story was familiar. It reminded Shintaro of the fiery blue eyes from that day. Of course, a lot of players glared at the Miracles after their loss, but they always looked away whenever Shintaro looked back. Most of the time, he didn’t even give them a glance. The only one he remembered glaring back at him as he stared were _those_ eyes.

“Hey, Takao, look at me,” Shintaro demanded. It may have come out a little brusque but he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. Takao laughed, but didn’t question him too much, and instead just told him to wait until the next red light. And when the moment finally came, Shintaro wondered why it never came to him before. Illuminated by the city lights behind him, under all the hair sticking to his forehead due to the rain, and slightly blurry because of the water droplets on Shintaro’s glasses, were _those_ eyes. The same pair of steel blue eyes from that faithful day whose intensity seemed to burn his skin. It was also the warm eyes that churned with bliss that evening in early July.

And tonight, another smile accentuated their warmth. Another beautiful sight.

 Ah, what an idiot he was.

Again, the moment ended too soon. The light turned green and Takao faced forward to continue his pedaling. A part of Shintaro’s heart wished he didn’t bring along the damn rickshaw.

“I know my eyes are pretty, but you don’t have to stare that much,” Takao teased, laughing, but it sounded different from his normal laugh. “I get embarrassed too, y’know? I mean, who wouldn’t if someone were looking at them with _that_ kind of face?”

“What kind of face?” Shintaro asked on a whim, but soon regretted doing so as even Takao was at a loss for words. Maybe it was a question better not answered. But knowing Takao, he’d probably do it as he liked taking risks. Nothing could have ever prepared him, though, for the answer that was soon said in a hesitant voice.

“Like… like you were falling in love.”

Takao too embarrassed and Shintaro too shocked to say anything else, they rode in silence until they reached the okonomiyaki place. And with a certain incident causing a pissed Shintaro to ride home with bits of okonomiyaki in his hair and Takao with a bump on his head, their conversations went back to normal, like nothing ever happened. Something had been established during their previous awkward silence. And despite it still being formless and vague,

it was alright.

* * *

The fated day had finally come. Shintaro was sitting in a quaint family restaurant, which he never knew existed before Taka told him about it, fidgeting with the taping around his fingers waiting for a text from the girl to tell him that she had arrived. As he watched the hustle bustle of the street from the window next to his seat, he thought back to the time he first opened that package. He was convinced it was fate and he still believed so now. Though the problem about his feelings for Takao still hinged in the back of his mind, he resolved not to think about it. Soon, the phone in his pocket vibrated, waking him from his thoughts.

 

  **From: Taka**

 **hey shin-chan, I'm wearing a blue t-shirt and a headband and about to enter the restaurant. Any second now im gonna come in there run to your table and shout "hey shin-chan!" and slip into my seat and grinning like I've known you forever!! wait for me!!** **ヾ(*** **´∇`)** **ﾉ**

That was... Very descriptive.

But he couldn't deny the fact that it calmed him down. He already knew he was an awkward person, even before people (Takao) started pummeling it into his head nearly every day. He shifted in his seat, fixing his composure and pushing back his glasses.

"SHIN-CHAN!" He heard a shout come from the entrance of the restaurant. But that voice couldn't be anyone other than Takao. What was he doing here? Fortunately, he had, in fact, anticipated the arrival of some… distractions and had readied a pair of sunglasses, quickly exchanging them with his usual spectacles. No, Midorima Shintaro was _not_ in a panic, absolutely not.

But it didn’t work. Takao just made a beeline to Shintaro’s seat once he spotted him and slid into the seat across him in one fluid motion. Shintaro felt himself sweat as Takao just grinned innocently at him. Funnily enough the boy was wearing a headband and the sequence of actions were eerily similar to Taka’s text.

“T-Takao,” Shintaro stammered, trying to think of anything to drive the other boy away. No, he was _not_ , in fact, in a panic.

"Hmm? What's up, Shin-chan?" He asked, purposefully dragging out the syllables of his nickname and raising his eyebrows mischievously, it was as if he knew something Shintaro did not.

"What are you doing here? How did you even know I'm here?" He asked, silently praying to the gods of Oha-Asa that the girl wouldn’t be arriving in a while. He didn't want her to misunderstand with the presence of Takao and drive her away.

"How? We promised of course!" Takao answered, his grin stretching wider and wider with each passing second. He took the time Shintaro took gaping in surprise to continue his explanation, his body trembling in excitement all the while. Shintaro had come to know it was a sign he was holding back his laughter or that he couldn’t wait to share a new piece of scandalous gossip.

"Last summer!"

Shintaro, confused as he was, sent the other a look that said just that. But it only prompted the other to laugh in glee.

“You still haven’t noticed, Shin-chan? I can’t believe it!” He exclaimed, slapping the table and just utterly consumed by the hilarity. Of what, Shintaro wasn’t a privy to. Yet. After what felt like forever, Takao’s guffaws finally died down, leaving only an amused smile. Shintaro glared at him. Just what was he laughing about?

The point guard rummaged his pockets and took out his cell phone, fiddling with it for a while before shoving it right into Shintaro’s face. He reeled back and let his eyes focus on the words on the screen. What he saw appalled him. It was the exact same text he sent Taka roughly a year ago, talking about the pressed four leaf clover from his sister.

“See? I told you about my headband collection too and-“

Takao kept chattering after that but all was lost to Shintaro as he took in what he had just saw. Giving Takao another once over, he realized that he was wearing exactly the things described in Taka’s text and did all detailed action in it word for word. They text in a similar fashion, they both love talking about mundane things and gossiping about people he couldn’t care less of, they both ask for Shintaro's help with homework, and so many more similarities came to mind once he pieced everything together.

Three people. Three people Shintaro had encountered that made him believe it was the work of fate. It was surprising enough when he figured out Takao was the fiery eyed boy, but to think he was also Taka. He had never bothered to put together the pieces. No, it was more like Takao was really good at hiding most of them. This was probably why he made them trade emails instead of phone numbers.

Ah, he really was an idiot.

They were all one and the same, in the form of one short, raven haired, steel blue eyed point guard wearing a cheeky grin. It all made sense to him now. Except one thing.

"How'd you know it was me?" Shintaro asked, switching back to his regular glasses so he could see Takao’s face a little better. Surprisingly, the boy didn’t laugh at the question.

"I didn't. At least until high school," Takao started simply. "I, in fact, figured out because you had that damn speech quirk."

To that, Shintaro's face flushed. He didn't think that his speech of all things was the thing that blew his 'cover', if he could even call it that. He thought the other boy had done something more privacy infringing like peek into his messages. But apparently, even without doing that, he found out. And never told Shintaro about it either. Takao was unexpectedly a cruel person.

“D-Don’t mock me,” Shintaro said, fixing the pair of glasses that honestly didn’t need fixing.

“I’m not! I’m not!” Takao laughed. “But hey, we should probably order something. I’m hungry.”

“Yes,” Shintaro responded dumbly, trying his best to stop blushing but his body just wouldn’t listen. “Me too.”

* * *

What started out as just a meal ended up being a thorough exploration of the Shinjuku area, a hunt for rare trading cards, a break at an arcade, dinner at Majiba, and before they knew it, they were taking a walk in a park while the sun set. As it was summer, it was quite late into the night and the park was quiet, devoid of the shouts and laughter of children playing. In the tranquil atmosphere, they walked side by side in a comfortable silence, their hands brushing but not exactly touching. And when they’ve made a full round of the park and beginning their second, Takao broke the long silence.

“Hey, Shin-chan,” he said quietly, perhaps apprehensive on breaking the mood. Shintaro hummed in response.

“Just so you know,” Takao continued, deliberately brushing their hands together. “I know you’re an idiot and wouldn’t get it if I didn’t say it myself.”

Shintaro made a bewildered face, ready to fervently deny Takao’s claim of his idiocy but when he saw the meaningful look in the point guard’s eyes, he held back.

“I’m crazy about you, y’know?” Red spread through Takao’s cheeks as he said that, right up to his ears. Upon hearing that, Shintaro, too, started turning red, his eyes widening in shock as he let it sink in. Takao was in love with him too. Who wouldn’t be shocked when such an amazing person returned their feelings?

Takao seemed to have misunderstood the few moments of Shintaro’s silent awe, as he laughed a strained laugh that didn’t suit him at all. “It’s totally okay if you don’t feel the same way, I just thought that you-“

His chatter trailed off and turned into a soft gasp when Shintaro took his hand and gripped firmly. The shooting guard’s face felt hot and he knew he was as red as a tomato, but on the bright side Takao wasn’t faring any better than him. Shintaro averted his eyes and pushed back his glasses.

“I, in fact… f-feel the same way, so don’t think about unnecessary things,” he somehow managed to stammer out, his face getting hotter and hotter by the second, if it was even still physically possible. It already felt like his face was burning.

When Takao still hadn’t responded, Shintaro braved himself a peek at the other and what he saw reminded him of that evening back in early July. But it felt, no, _was_ different. Unlike that time, Takao’s smile was smaller and more modest, but it didn’t betray his mirth. In the orange light of the sunset, his eyes glistened, the emotions in them visible to the naked eye, threatening to spill. This time it really, really did look like Takao was going to cry. The sight had awakened a more instinctive part of Shintaro and the first instinct he had was to give his partner an embrace.

So he did. Abruptly, but not roughly, he made Takao turn to face him and buried the boy in his arms that circled his waist. Soon enough, the point guard returned the gesture and tightened his hold, prompting Shintaro to do the same. Their bodies softly swayed as they savored each other’s scent, as if they were rocking to the soft lull of the warm summer wind. And when they let go of each other, smiling and absolutely breathless,

they knew that it was fate.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, first let me apologize.  
> 1\. for the inconsistencies in characterization and grammar. I did this in a dozen sittings with lots of 'five minute breaks' in between  
> 2\. Not proofread because I'm tired  
> 3\. So. Many. Page Breaks. I am sorry.  
> 4\. for being super self indulgent.  
> 5\. for the Kominato bros cameo in the beginning, I couldn't help it. Shout out to DnA fans reading this!  
> 6\. for the absence of kissu scenes. Truly sorry :p
> 
> On another note, wow almost 9k words!! I never thought I'd be able to finish such a hulk of a fanfiction, because this idea struck me around 2 years ago when my friend sent a package with similar contents to her crush and at that time this huge idea was impossible for me to finish. Thank you so so very much for those who read till the end! Hope you have a happy new year! o(*’▽’*)/☆ﾟ’
> 
> *whispers* if you want to talk my tumblr is ordinaryxtreme ;)
> 
> -kaomojis acquired with the help of japaneseemoticons.me-


End file.
